Any advice on how to determine value of the truck I'm looking at? The NADA & Kelley BB don't offer the size engine & a few other things necessary to determine whether the asking price on this truck is fair or not. Thanks in advance.

 

It all depends on the area, whether you are selling or trading and what exra options you are talking about. If you are talking about a lifted truck with a custom paint job and stereo then you are going to lose about 60 percent of the money you added for the mods. If you are talking about factory options then just pick the higher truck package (instead of XLT pick the Lariat) and then average the two for a realistic value.

Dealers will not give you a Blue book value or NADA, they will try to give you the Black book or auction value which is about 10-20 percent less. In all reality, a vehicle is worth more to the seller, less to the buyer, so you will only get what someone is willing to pay.

If I were you, I would post the truck ad on here, get peoples opinion on what we see.

 

Thanks for that advice...here is the ad:
http://jxn.craigslist.org/cto/2398516128.html

The truck does NOT have PW/PL...it has one VERY small ding on driver's side front panel....paint is good, no rust, which is rare in Michigan. The bed has a bottom liner but I must say it's kind of beat up so I would have to have it painted.
--He said the service light is on & he doesn't know why
-- Their is a slight shaking which the owner thinks is from the exhaust.
--I noticed a small strange noise when I took off to test drive it.
--Right turn signal sticks and then works again.
I know that these are probably things you all could fix easily...however I don't want to buy a truck that needs a bunch of repairs.
I offered him $5000 if nothing major is wrong.....and if problems are found then I told him we'll talk after that. Thanks in advance for all assistance.

 

Look for overspray. Unless it was garaged from new and not winter driven(ie originally a southern vehicle), repairs would have to have been made for rust


Service light could be major. Get the code scanned for the service light.
Shaking can't be from exhaust. A vibration from it resting against the body yes but that is really noticeable. Maybe an engine or tranny mount causing the shaking. Could also be the strange noise. I would definately try to find out what it is first

Minor

 

Thanks Ric....I agree the shaking explanation is...well....shaky...excuse the pun.

I know enough that I don't want anything with transmission or engine mount problems and I know that they can be major $$ to repair.

Re: the paint...do I look on the inside door for overspray evidence?

Ya know....my son is a mechanic but out of state. He keeps telling me to go back down South & get a truck there, eliminating rust issues. Maybe he is right!

 

KBB says between $4900 and $5300 depending on how much you value the wheels. Decrease the value by what it takes to get it running properly.
http://www.kbb.com/ford/f150-heritag...ty&anchor=true

 

Thanks DH...also very good advice! I will post the mechanic's findings tomorrow night.

 

Overspray tells are inside wheel wells on fender liners or other items that are not removed during painting, under the hood, or where trim meets paint etc.. Wheels get bagged so don't look there but at suspension or body support items. A colour change would be very noticable behind seals or under hood or open parts in the bottom of the tailgate unless it was a very good job. I was looking at a used truck a while back and the tell for me was a slight amount of overspray on the rear suspension leafs.

My 06 Honda is showing signs of rust in various places and I would be find it hard to believe that a Michigan truck driven in similar winter conditions would show no rust at all. Also check inside door seams for rust. All too often we are too thrilled about buying a vehicle that we 'gloss' over places we should look.

 

Oh and a $35 for Carfax, InstaVIN or other equivalent will tell you some stuff about the vehicle as well. Some balk at that but what is $35 or $50 when you are forking out 100 times that.

 

My inlaw bought a rig here in washington that was originally registered in michigan. 2 months later he lost his brakes and every single line had to be replaced because of rust. Be wary my friend.